Police force judged to be ‘good’ in inspection report

Lancashire Constabulary has been praised by inspectors, who judged it to be “good”.

The force was found to have a “positive and supportive” culture in the latest PEEL inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).

Det Ch Con Andy Rhodes

They reported that police officers and staff were “committed to understanding and serving the communities of Lancashire” and they “treat the public fairly and with respect”.

But the inspection found the force was not compliant with the Best Use of Stop And Search scheme and some of the records checked did not include sufficient explanation of the legal grounds to use the power.

Inspectors also found that improvements were needed in the way incidents involving tasers were recorded.

A taser was used 171 times in 2014, which was broadly in line with the average for similar forces.

HMIC graded the legitimacy of the force at keeping people safe and reducing crime.

In England and Wales, it judged one force to be “outstanding”, 37 to be “good”, five as “requires improvement” and none to be “inadequate.”

Det Ch Con Andy Rhodes said he was “pleased” with the findings overall.

He said: “Of particular note, they have highlighted our continued commitment in relation to community engagement which is something we have continued to work hard at despite the financial challenges of the last five years.

“However, we still have a long way to go and we are far from complacent. We need to tighten up on our data around taser and stop and search as well as really push on with our work to embed the code of ethics throughout the constabulary.”